Guernica was a symbolic centre of Basque resistance to General Francisco Franco, and was thus an important site during the Spanish Civil War, despite its small size. On 26 April 1937, the town of Guernica, located in the Basque region of Spain, suffered one of the well-known and most destructive aerial bombardments in written history. At the time Guernica's population was approximately 5,000, and the attacks killed over 1,000 of the town's people.

The bombings were led by the Condor Legion, a legion of the German Luftwaffe. Germany, then led by Adolph Hitler, had sided with Franco's Nationalists. Sixty years later, then-president of Germany, Roman Herzog, wrote a letter to the people of Guernica asking forgiveness for Germany's participation in the bombing of the town.

Pablo Picasso immortalized the bombing of Guernica in his painting, Guernica, which has, in the years since, become a symbol for civilian casualties and the horrors of war.

Compensation:

Apology

Summary:

German Parliament apologized to Spain for Hitler's bombing of the Spanish town, Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Parliament's apology came sixty-one years after the attacks. The German Parliament also decided to remove all former Legion members' names from associated German military bases. These German military barracks were named after members of the Condor Legion, who were responsible for bombing Guernica

Miscellaneous:

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